Au Bon Pain

Poor customer service. Will never return to this location on Cambridge street. I visited this site twice and the first time They messed up the order, didn’t apologize, put their hands out with a frown and were very unfriendly. The second visit was in the evening and I made it 10 minutes before they closed and they refused to make a salad. Very poor customer service.

Worse breakfast sandwich I’ve ever eaten! Sooo bland and tasteless. Added salt but it didn’t help. Plus the cashier kept my change – and he knew it. When I realized it, I would have gone back and demanded it if we weren’t in such a hurry. It was less than a dollar but I now question their honesty.

Great location. Horrible service. They honestly act like they could care less that you even come into their restaurant. Even the shift manager is blasé about his job. Am I really interrupting your day by ordering a meal? They all seem much more interested in chatting with one another than providing a quality customer service experience. They consistently get your order wrong or put things on your sandwich that you didn’t ask for. If it weren’t for the food quality once they got it correct, I would have given them a 1 rating.

What’s worse than picking up your breakfast sandwich, walking 20 minutes, arriving at work and unwrapping your order only to realize it’s completely wrong? Having it happen four times in the past couple of months.
The food itself is average but what do you expect, it’s ABP? The coffee is down right awful though. The expresso is extremely weak and definitely watered down. But what kills me is that they cannot get simple orders correct. With so many other food and coffee options in the area, I would recommend going elsewhere especially for the coffee.
The positive is that the staff is very friendly. I just wish the cashiers would listen to the orders and communicate specific requests to the individuals actually making the food. There is definitely a break down with the chain of communication so maybe something for them to look into and offer more staff training.

Let me start by saying I have been to other Au Bons before and this place does not do the company any justice. I went in ordered the Thai chicken salad (which I have had at other locations and loved) and it was ready in about a minute (in a plastic container) It looked as if it had been sitting in the fridge for a couple days and the chicken looked very watery. I took it back to the counter and asked if it had been made fresh to order, and was blatantly lied to.
I asked the staff if they would eat it, they stared, I told them I would never come back to the establishment and went back to my table. The man behind the counter had the nerve to bring the salad back to my table and tell me that this was made fresh and that the chicken always looks like this. Fortunately another staff member offered to make me a fresh salad, and let me tell you it looked a lot different!
On another note, I had asked that same girl before ordering my salad where the bathroom was. She was wiping the counter, did not even acknowledge my presence and pointed up the stairs. Excellent customer service! Won’t be going back there any day.

I just paid over $ 3 for a stale, dry, rock-​hard pastry. Please don’t sell stale food!

I’ve been going to this Au Bön Pain religiously for the past 5 years but this past year i have had horrible experience after horrible experience. On friday i went in and i wanted to order my favorite Grilled Chicken Avocado sandwich. I noticed the menus on the wall had changed and my sandwich was no longer listed. I asked the cashier if that sandwich was still available for purchase, she wasnt paying attention to me at first and after repeating myself three times! she finally got what i was saying. She said that yes i was still able to order that sandwich. When i got back to work and opened my sandwich i was pissed! for starters the tomatos that i stated i did not want on my sandwich were there. The chicken used were the strips of chicken used for the new «warm grilled chicken sandwich» instead of the solid pieces of chicken breast usually used «not a huge deal but i barely had any chicken strips on the sandwich. They also put the basil aioli on my sandwich which is used for the «warm grilled chicken sandwich». i should probably mention whats usually in this sandwich: avocado, blue cheese, dijon mustard mesculen and the chicken. The mustard was missing but they did manage to put the blue cheese on which mixed with the basil aioli didnt make for a great taste… I dont think i will be back they have been messing up so much lately im over it. super disappointing

You can’t beat the consistency of Au Bön Pain. The spot is clean and comfortable. The bagels and pastries are fresh and plentiful. The staff is fast too. I much prefer this over Starbucks, you don’t leave smelling of coffee.

This place has the worst sandwiches. I ordered a turkey and Swiss on ciabatta bread. The bread was super stale tasting like a day old. The lemonade was weak and the prices are expensive for crappy food. The location is close to the Boston General Hospital so the majority of the customers come from there. However the food should be better. I felt so sorry for the cashier because it was her first day on the job and no one was helping her out. The establishment seems to be poorly managed. I will never come here again.

Service in this place is the worst. Staff is rude, slow, and unmotivated to work. 1 star for decent coffee. Had to wait over 15 minutes for a breakfast sandwich — staff wasn’t paying attention and didn’t notice order tickets! Once I got to my sandwich at work, I noticed it had no avocado. Total BS!

BS coffee BS food BS service. I came in Through the door … Few homeless people around the door. No welcome or smile or greeting from the staff. The sandwich was as cold as the staff. Quantity is next to nothing compared to what one pays. Coffee sucked. Staff was so talkative behind there that I couldn’t have some quiet time either. Should have gone to star bucks right across. it has A DO not Go sign. Just that it’s probably hidden somewhere. Omg even the bread
was not fresh, Jesus this is supposed to b a bakery isn’t it?

I just paid $ 6 for a piece of garbage. I went in to get a late lunch and ordered the Tuscan Grilled Cheese. I got back to my desk and unveiled the most horrific looking sandwich. One of my slices had a ginormous hole in the middle and was poorly put together. The cheese is an unnatural color and had these weird circular bits in it. The bread was not toasted and it tasted spicy, but the item isn’t supposed to be. I have come to this place before for salads and bagels, but I will never be going back again.

I’ve never given a Unilocal review before, but this place compelled me to. The service here is dreadful. The employees seem jaded and are usually just completely unhelpful. And the manager that everyone else is complaining about is rude and harsh to her employees, making it a toxic work environment. I’ve been coming here in the mornings before my internship, but I think I’ll go to the Starbucks across the street from now on.

Wow! Terrible manager.
I had a simple and quick order and enjoyed my visit until I was leaving. I heard the manager (short younger Asian girl) barking at her employee. She was threatening to send him home for standing there. He quickly responded no, no and was quickly making something. She continued to belittle him and I pipped in that she was really rude to talk to her employees the way she was. I said there is a better way to treat an employee and a much better way to give feedback. We had a few more exchanges. I hope the manager is let go. I wouldn’t be surprised if they go out of business at this location. Totally unacceptable behavior. She doesn’t get it. She’s obviously miserable and that gets passed on down. Terrible.

I don’t know that I have ever written a review on Unilocal before, but this Au Bön Pain definitely has me typing. This store is inexplicably slow. I have been the only (and I mean ONLY) customer in the store and the wait time for a sandwich was almost 10 minutes. I ordered a BLT. They forgot the bacon so I have no idea what could have taken so long. Second, there is an employee who seems to be a manager who is extremely rude. She berates her employees, screaming at them while they try to make sandwiches. I saw two customers who actually said something to her to try and get her to relax. I was so appalled at how the employees were treated and how ineffective the management is, it’s NO WONDER they are so slow! Efficiency is top down. Ineffective (and behaviorally challenged) managers breed ineffective employees. Maybe if they can get the management under control, the quality control would go up too (hint, hint).

I’ve only been here a few times, and it’s irritatingly convenient to my Beacon Hill apartment, but I doubt I will return. The food is just not very good and the service is very slow. I had a decent egg and avocado sandwich, but everything else i’ve tried was very mediocre (the chicken on my sandwich was half-​frozen and rubbery.) The coffee and croissants were okay.

SOOO SLOW!!! So painfully slow. And I informative. The guy, who actually looked like he was the manager, couldn’t tell me if their peanut sauce had dairy in it. Did I mention that they were so slow?!

This has got to be the worst Au Bön Pain I have ever been to. I ordered a Chicken Wrap, and the guy forgot to put the chicken in it! Poor service, seating area has flies all over it. Don’t order soup here unless you want broth.
I always vow never to come back here, but I do. Never again.

I always vow to never go back to this ABP, regardless of how close it is to work and to MGH. The staff here is very surly and unpleasant and doesn’t listen to the orders being made half the time.
The last time I went in, I got reamed out by one of the sandwich makers because I accidentally took the sandwich meant for the person who was in line in front of me (we ordered the exact same thing, and they called out the sandwich instead of the name). I was yelled at in front of the whole store, and it was embarrassing. The woman could have just said «I’m sorry, but we gave you the wrong sandwich» and that would have made the situation easier. Instead I was informed I was «stealing» someone else’s food. The pastry and salad selection is very limited (sometimes there isn’t anything out) and they are always slow.
Next time I want ABP for lunch, I’ll go to State Street or South Station. At least their employees are nice.

We ate here when we stayed at a nearby hotel and were pleased enough with our experience that we went back every day of our vacation. :)